Father Mike's Message - 06/19/2022

Dear Parishioners,

Happy Father’s Day!  We are blessed by our fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and all who fill the role of father for us in our lives.  We pray for them today that God will bless them.  We remember in a special way our dads who have died and ask God to reward them with the gift of eternal life.  Thank you to all fathers! Prayers for you on this special day.

It seems like summer is upon us in full force and it happened so quickly!  Please be careful with the heat and stay hydrated.

Today (Sunday) is our Corpus Christi Procession that we do in collaboration with Our Lady of Lourdes as we process through the streets of Washington to share our Catholic faith and love for the Eucharist.  The procession is a sacred time for prayer and worship as we sing, pray, and walk together.  We are hoping to have a tram and/or a bus for those who would like to be a part of the procession but aren’t able to walk that far.  Stay tuned.  We will make announcements at Masses this weekend about that.  Again, please keep in mind the weather and dress accordingly.  I hope to see you there!

Archbishop Rozanski recently gave permission for parishes to decide whether they would return to distributing Communion under both species at Masses.  The Priests, Deacons, and our Parish Liturgy Commission will soon meet to discuss this before I make a decision.  Feel free to share your thoughts about this with me, Fr. Tony, or one of our Deacons.  While distributing Communion under both species expresses the fullness of the symbol of Holy Communion, reception of the Body alone (or the Blood for that matter) is still receiving the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.  So there’s no necessity to distribute the Blood of Christ, but it lends to experiencing the fullness of the symbol.  This gift of the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, is a great gift that we as Catholics are blessed to share.  Let’s pray that all of us grow in appreciation of this gift as we partake of the Body of Christ and live as the Body of Christ, which is the mission of the Church.

A reminder that we will not have the 6:00 p.m. Mass this evening as families celebrate Father’s Day.

Happy Father’s Day!  Have a great week.  God bless.

Fr. Mike Boehm